


From the Ground Up

by ExpressAndAdmirable



Series: The Heroes of Light [42]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types, Final Fantasy I
Genre: Drow, F/F, Family, Gen, Literal Sleeping Together, Rain, Seasickness, Self-Reflection, Team as Family, Tiefling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-27 15:40:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13251327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExpressAndAdmirable/pseuds/ExpressAndAdmirable
Summary: To avoid getting caught topside in a storm, Lux and Sol end up having a sleepover with Morgan. (Featuring art!)





	From the Ground Up

**Author's Note:**

> Response to the “ ♙: Sharing a bed [all the ladies, sleepover style] ” prompt from Sol's player, taken from [this prompt list](https://expressandadmirable.tumblr.com/post/164709227549/nonsexual-acts-of-intimacy-select-from-the). Included is an absolutely beautiful piece of the trio, drawn by Sol's player @b-e-m-l-t on Tumblr.

“Halei. Halei, love, wake up.”

“No.”

Aviva snorted. “Oh, alright then, when you put it like that.”

“Why am I waking up?”

Before the Tiefling could answer, a massive crack of thunder shook the deck beneath them, the flash of lightning making the cloudy night as bright as day. Haluei'en blinked. “Oh.”

“Storm’s almost on us. If we stay on deck, we’ll be stuck here until it passes, and it looks like it’s going to be around for awhile. If we move below decks now, we’ll miss the worst of it. Come on.” Kneeling on her side of the bedroll, Aviva stroked the Drow’s hair. “Can you get up for me?”

With a sickly groan, Halei pushed herself into a sitting position. The nausea that came and went whenever she was aboard the Platinum Dawn had come again and showed no signs of going. She dropped her head into her hands. “Just leave me here to die.”

“Maybe another day.” Aviva pulled the Drow into her arms and kissed the top of her head. “The water’s still calm, even with the storm, so it shouldn’t be too bad down below. I’ll make you some tea and we can go back to bed.” She tugged gently on Halei’s torso. “I promise, you’ll live.”

Halei muttered something in accented Elvish that Aviva was fairly certain translated to “don’t wanna”. But she sighed and reached for her boots and outer tunic, if only to carry them below.

“Um. Lux? Sol?”

They looked up. Morgan stood in the entrance to their tent, her face anxious. “Are you doing down?”

Lux nodded. “The tent will survive, but we’re taking the rest of our things to the cabin. This storm’s going to be here awhile. Are you coming?”

“Um, yeah…” Morgan paused, chewing her lip. “The thing is, I kind of… turned my bed into a workbench? And my floor is covered in metal stuff. And my hammock is the only place to sleep. And it’s gonna get wet.” She looked at Lux, then at Sol, then back again. “Could I sleep on your floor? I have my own blanket–” she indicated the fabric draped about her shoulders, “and I have my bedroll, so I won’t take up too much space–”

“Morgan,” Lux cut off her rambling with a smile, “you can sleep in the bed with us.” Seeing the Gnome’s surprise, she continued. “We offered you space at our side way back in the Elf-King’s marsh. That offer hasn’t changed. You’re always welcome.”

Sol nodded in agreement, then grimaced as she regretted the movement. “What she said.”

Morgan grinned. “Okay! Thanks! Do you need help carrying stuff?”

“No, thank you.” Lux shook her head. “You head down, we’ll be there in a few.” She watched Morgan scamper off, a thin smirk forming on her lips as she felt Sol’s eyes on her. “What?”

“Your caretaker instincts are showing, Hearth-Mother.”

Lux laughed. “Well, follow Morgan down and I can take care of you too. Now, before the rain comes! Go!” Dutifully, Sol rose to her knees, collecting her outer clothing and the few small items they kept in the tent. Lux followed behind as Sol left their little topside home and together they made their way down the wooden stairs to their cabin on the crew deck. Morgan met them in the hall, still wrapped in her blanket, and waited politely as Lux pushed open the door. “You two get settled,” the Tiefling instructed. “I’m going to make some ginger tea for Sol, and then we’ll go back to bed.” Without waiting for a reply, she dumped her armful of clothing on a wooden chair and headed for the galley.

Sol had already crawled beneath the covers by the time Lux returned, her eyes closed as she conversed with Morgan in low tones. Lux coaxed her up to sitting and placed the floral teacup in her hand; the Drow nodded gratefully and began to sip. Their high seas routine. Gently tucking Sol’s hair behind her long ear, Lux looked across the bed at Morgan sitting cross-legged atop the sheets. “This one needs to stay on the edge, so she can escape if necessary. I already run hot, so I’m not bothered by the middle. Are you alright on the other edge?”

Morgan nodded cheerily. “Oh yes. That’s fine with me! Thank you again for letting me stay here. Maybe tomorrow I’ll clean my cabin a bit, make room to sleep if I have to. Or I could get another hammock and put one in there too.” She considered that a moment longer, then shrugged. “Wouldn’t be til we get to land, so maybe the floor is best.” She grinned up at Lux. “But tonight is like a sleepover!”

“What’s a sleepover?”

“Didn’t you have sleepovers when you were little?” Morgan cocked her head. “When your friends come over and spend the night and you stay up late telling stories and eating treats?”

With a soft laugh, Lux shook her head. “No, I didn’t. But they sound nice.” Apparently, many childhood activities necessitated having friends.

“Oh. I didn’t have them either.” Morgan frowned in thought, then brightened just as quickly. “Well, this can be our first, then! Only without the treats. Next time we can get treats.” The end of Morgan’s sentence dissolved into a yawn. “And without the staying up late part. We can do that next time too.”

“Certainly. We’ll plan ahead for the next storm.” Lux retrieved the empty teacup from Sol’s feeble fingers and placed it on the table beyond the bed. Then she stretched, considered her options, and clambered over the Drow to reach the middle. Sol grumbled; Morgan giggled, then followed her under the covers. Resting on her side, Lux ran her palm up and down Sol’s spine, feeling the Drow relax into reverie under her touch. Then she rolled onto her back. “Goodnight, Morgan. Sleep well.”

Already half-asleep, the Gnome nodded against the pillow. “G'night.” Within minutes, her breathing had deepened.

Outside, the rain fell steadily against the glass-smooth sea, the occasional thunderclap muffled by the closed porthole. Lux watched the lightning reflect on the ceiling of the cabin, softened by the rain on the glass. She could not sleep, though she could not place why. She had never had a sleepover as a child, but something about her present placement felt familiar and strange. With a sigh, she shifted onto her side facing Morgan, her hands tucked beneath her pillow, and closed her eyes.

A rustle of fabric, then a weight against her belly. Lux opened her eyes. Without waking, Morgan had also rolled over, tucking herself comfortably into Lux’s curve. For what felt like an eternity, the Tiefling remained frozen, unsure how to respond to the sleeping figure. Finally, she extended her arm, wrapping it carefully around the Gnome. A moment later, as if sensing the change in energy through her reverie, Sol turned to press herself against Lux’s back, throwing an arm over her waist and brushing her nose against her neck before stilling again.

It felt like family, Lux realised. Though the details were many years gone, she remembered crawling into her parents’ bed, both of them alive and well and more than happy to hold her close. Then it was only her mother’s bed, and she was held so tightly she wondered if her mother thought she would disappear in the night. A familiar but long-forgotten ache blossomed in her heart.

She knew Morgan was no child; in fact the Gnome was nearly three times her age. She knew she was no mother, and Sol no wife. But she couldn’t help but wonder: _is this the feeling of home_?

**Author's Note:**

> Title song by Ayla Nereo.
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr at @expressandadmirable for a proper table of contents for the Heroes campaign, commissioned character art, text-based roleplay snippets and more!


End file.
